


What the Censors Didn't See

by twoheartedalien



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Jewish Angela "Mercy" Ziegler, Jewish Character, Lena pretends to be a man, Mostly historically accurate, Some Fluff, WW2 AU, implied sex, some hurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-01 02:15:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13988355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twoheartedalien/pseuds/twoheartedalien
Summary: When Lena Oxton gets injured during Operation Market Garden in Arnhem, the Netherlands while pretending to be a man named Sidney, Amelie Guillard discovers her near to death and saves her life. This is the story of Lena's recovery and their relationship.





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> Want to thank Yossarian, Nox, Archer, Yuri and a few others for helping me put this together :D
> 
> If you leave comments about historical inaccuracies, note that you will be met with sarcasm and anger and it will get you nowhere. I did my best.

22nd of September 1944 

Lena woke up with a pained groan, her breathing ragged and shallow as she squinted at the wooden ceiling above her. She didn’t recognise where she was at all. Her mouth was dry and her tongue felt like sand as she tried to move from where she laid in a small cot. The way it dipped in the middle didn’t help her pained struggle as she did her best to roll. 

After a few failed attempts, a hand on her shoulder stilled her. Lena shifted in the bed to get away from it, looking right up at the woman looming over her. She was a tall woman and obviously slender even underneath the layers she was bundled up in. Lena couldn’t help but notice how gorgeous she was, her hair was done up in rolls on the top of her head and her lips painted with a dark red lipstick. It took a while for Lena to realise she was trying to speak to her.

“Vous ne devez pas bouger, vous avez un pneumothorax et un drain dans la poitrine. Restez immobile.” The woman said, keeping bother her hands on Lena’s shoulders to keep her against the cot. 

When Lena gave her a confused look, the woman raised her eyebrow and spoke again, “Vous ne parlez pas français?”

Lena continued to stare at her as she pulled her hands back, crossing them against her chest with a sigh. 

“Spreek de Nederlands?” She sighed. Lena could at least understand that, shaking her head.

“Why do the English insist on only speaking English?” The woman asked as she sat on the edge of the cot, smirking down at Lena. Her words were heavily accented but still understandable.

“Everyone else speaks English already, makes us lazy.” Lena joked back, licking her chapped lips. 

The woman huffed a laugh and then crossed her legs, “Your tags, they say your name is Sidney, but I assume that is  _ not _ your name.”

“What makes you think that?” Lena murmured back, the butterflies in her stomach that should have been there the minute she had realised she was in a stranger’s home finally formed. 

“The fact that you are in the…” The woman trailed off as she fished out Lena’s dog tags from her coat pocket, flipping them in her fingers to look at her information, “1st British Airborne Division and you are a woman. Times are changing, but they have not changed that much. So what is your  _ real _ name?” She asked. 

“Lena. Oxton is my real last name,” She replied, chewing her lip and watched the woman closely, “What’s yours?”

“Amélie Guillard.” Amélie reached up to hang the dog tags back around Lena’s neck with a small smile playing on her lips. 

“Where are we?” 

“Arnhem, but I assume you already knew that. This is my apartment. Well, this is the attic part of it anyway, we are on the top floor of the building. I found you two streets over on the concrete.” Amélie’s eyes were glued to Lena, waiting for something. 

“I don’t remember much. Just dropping in here and finding those goddamn Panzer tanks. What day is it?” Lena asked, bringing her hand up to rub at her eyes, “Can I get some water?” 

“Today is the 22nd of September. I found you on the 17th, not long after the…” Amélie trailed off as she tried to find the word, “Allied forces dropped in here. Perhaps four or five hours. I am not too sure.” She stood up and made her way across the room to a table with a pitcher of water, pouring out a glass before bringing it back to Lena. 

Amélie got on one knee beside the bed, one hand going to the back of Lena’s head and helping her sit up just enough to drink the water without spilling it. Lena drank the water gratefully as Amélie held the glass to her lips. Once the glass was empty, Amélie placed it aside and stood back up. 

“Are you warm enough? I have other blankets.” Amélie asked, eyes wandering along Lena’s covered body. 

“I’m fine, thanks. You haven’t said what happened to me, though.” Lena wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. 

“Oh, oui,” Amélie said, running her long fingers through her hair, “You had a pneumothorax - a collapsed lung - after you got hit by a bullet in the chest.” She pointed to a spot on the lower half of her own rib cage to demonstrate for Lena. 

“Explains why I’m sore all over.” Lena grumbled to herself, tilting her head back on the pillow to look at the ceiling above her. 

“You also have a…” Amélie snapped her fingers as she trailed off, “A drain in your chest, I will have to remove it later. My apologies, it has been a long time since I have needed to speak English.” 

“S’ok. So I’ve been outta it for like four days now, yeah?”

“Oui. I found you, tended to your wounds and then gave you a bath. You were covered in your own blood and dirt. I also cleaned your uniform, but that was harder to keep a secret. I cannot hang that out on the washing line.” 

Lena felt her face warming at the idea of Amélie having seen her naked. She had figured for her to be clean and in fresh clothes in this cot would have meant that, but it was another thing entirely for her to admit to it. Amélie smirked at the blush forming on Lena’s cheeks and slipped her hands back into her pockets. 

“It’s late, so I am going to bed. I will see tomorrow if I can find you some books in English to keep you entertained. Goodnight, Lena.” 

She watched from her cot as Amélie gathered a few of her belongings from the table across the room and headed out the door. Her shoes clicked against the wood as she headed down a set of stairs to the apartment below. Lena stayed awake only for another few more minutes, thinking about how lucky she was that Amélie had found her before falling asleep again.

* * *

 

23rd of September 1944

Lena was woken up the next day by books being placed on the table beside her cot. Amélie stood over her, still bundled up multiple layers of clothing as attempted to gently place four books that she’d brought Lena. 

“What time is it?” She grumbled, rubbing at her eyes.

“Two in the afternoon. You slept for over twelve hours.” Amélie answered, squatting down beside the bed as she checked the drains that came out of Lena’s chest and bladder. 

Lena hissed in pain when one of them was tugged too much during Amélie’s thorough examination. She mumbled an apology to Lena before leaving the drains alone, brushing her hands off on her pants as she stood up. 

“I will have to remove those today and we will have to see if you can stand, with or without my help. It will be… unpleasant.”

She only nodded as her reply, chewing on her lip. She was already in pain as it was, a little more in hopes to get her out of bed didn’t scare her. Lena hadn’t even bothered asking Amélie if she had any pain relief to give her, knowing that it was hard enough to get medical supplies at a proper hospital these days, let alone at some woman’s house deep into Nazi occupation. 

Amélie stepped aside, seemingly preparing something that Lena couldn’t really see. She sucked in a deep breath, turning her head to look at the books that Amélie had placed on the bedside table. They were all novels by Agatha Christie, ‘Murder on the Orient Express’, ‘And Then There Were None’, ‘Death on the Nile’, and ‘Murder on the Vicarage’. 

“Got a thing for Christie?” Lena asked, watching as Amélie walked back to the cot. 

“I have never read them, but an English speaking neighbour of mine does have a love for her novels. I borrowed them. All of my own are in French.” 

“Speaking of, you’re French, yeah? What’re you doing in the Netherlands?” Lena asked, trying to prop herself up on her elbows. 

Amélie pressed her hand to Lena’s chest, forcing her to lie back down. “I am. I came here to get more nursing and life experience. I got stuck here due to the war. Couldn’t go back due to the Germans taking France and then they came here.”

“Right.” Lena said, not exactly sure what to say next. 

“I am going to remove your drains now,” Amélie announced, pulling back the blankets that covered Lena’s body, “It will hurt, somewhat. Prepare yourself.”  

Lena did her best to brace herself for the pain. 

She couldn’t stop herself from crying out anyway.

* * *

 

24th of September 1944

It didn’t take long for Lena to make her way through the books that Amélie had left her. There was nothing better to do while being kept hidden away in her attic. She was able to get out of bed and walk to a small toilet connected to the attic but Lena still couldn’t make her way down the stairs on her own. It was too narrow for the both of them to walk down together so Amélie came up every evening to change her bandages and wipe her body clean with a sponge. 

Lena couldn’t help herself from turning a deep crimson every evening when she had to strip in front of Amélie to be cleaned up. It had been a long time since she had been completely naked in front of anyone. She’d managed to get around many things while serving in the war and come up with tricks to make it easier, but there was no doing any of that here. Amélie already knew she was a woman and there was no other way she was going to get clean. 

Even with the embarrassment, Lena still perked up when she heard the sound of Amélie coming up the wooden stairs. She slowly propped herself up on her elbows and pulled back the blankets, shifting to sit on the edge of the cot. Amélie made her way through the door and was carrying a plate of food. 

“Long day at the clinic, love?” She asked when she noticed Amélie massaging her own shoulder.

“Something like that. We are mostly dealing with the injured Nazis after your little… drop in.” Amélie gave her a small smile, bringing her the plate of food and handing her the utensils.

It wasn’t much, the two of them had to share rations for one person, but Amélie seemed to be able to get some extra food from a black market seller. She also seemed to have recipes that made what they did have go a long way. Today’s dish looked to be bread, butter, and some kind of soup. 

“I finished the last one of the books today, you know if your neighbour has any more? Gets pretty boring up here by myself.” Lena said as she began digging into her meal.

“I can ask. I do not think she will have many more, but I suppose it won’t hurt,” Amélie paused, looking away for a moment before speaking again, “Your army is losing, you know. In Arnhem. I am not sure about elsewhere, the propaganda is in all the newspapers.” 

“Not surprised. Didn’t exactly expect those bloody tanks to be there.” Lena murmured as she soaked up some soup onto a torn off piece of bread.

“I found you a while away from the fighting. It seems like you crawled away after being hit.” Amélie said, raising an eyebrow. 

“Might’ve. Not sure. Don’t remember much.” Lena shrugged, clearing the rest of the food from her plate.

“What exactly  _ do _ you remember?” Amélie asked, taking the plate back from Lena and putting it aside. 

“Remember dropping in on a marsh nearby, marching into Arnhem with my division. We tried to capture the bridge and I don’t exactly remember much after that. Assume I got hit and considering how far away the fighting sounds, must have walked and crawled away. Couldn’t tell you why though.” She gripped at her pyjama pants, keeping her eyes on the floorboards beneath her feet. 

“I see.” Amélie headed back to the door, moving onto the next step in their routine for the evening, a bath for Lena. 

“How’d you even get me up here anyway? We can’t use the stairs at the same time so you can’t’ve carried me.” 

Amélie paused and looked back at her with a smirk, “I used blankets to help pull you up the stairs. It took a long time to do it without injuring you further. You are heavier than you look, chérie.”

With that, she picked up the dirty plate and made her way down the stairs.

* * *

 

25th of September 1944

Amélie had managed to get a few more books written in English off her neighbour much to Lena’s relief. While she was away at the clinic, Lena spent her time trying to keep herself from bouncing off the walls due to boredom. Her favourite out of what she had been given was ‘Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley, as nice as Christie’s books were. 

Today Lena finally felt ready to test her ability to go down the stairs on her own. The ache in her chest was dulling with time and while she still couldn’t raise her arms completely above her head, she could finally walk to the bathroom and back without being winded by it. 

She decided to wait until the evening, around the time that Amélie would be returning home to the flat anyway just in case anything did go wrong. Lena slipped out of her cot and made her way to the door as she felt the cold nipping at her toes. The door came open with long creaking noise before Lena began making her way down the stairs, taking one step at a time. 

The largely empty flat surprised Lena. There was a large amount of dead space as if furniture had been removed. It didn’t take long to notice that all the picture frames in the flat had been placed face down or the photos inside had been torn. That was definitely something to ask Amélie about when she returned from the clinic. 

Lena took her time to explore the apartment, frowning as she searched through the kitchen cupboards. It was just like it was back home in England. Food rationed to a point that there was almost nothing here. Lena pursed her lips as she realised it was probably even worse here in the Netherlands.

The sound of keys turning in the lock of the front door made Lena jump. The entire area had been rather quiet as it seemed the allied forces had completely withdrawn so even the smallest noise could be heard. She watched as Amélie slipped through the door carrying a brown paper bag, the rations for today that she would have collected on her way home. 

“Lena?” Amélie asked as she placed her keys on a table by the door, “You made it down here by yourself, chérie?” 

“Yeah, managed it alright using the railing thing to get down. Took it real slow,” She gave her a smile as Amélie walked towards the kitchen, putting the paper bag on the counter, “Anything good today?”

“Non. Just more soup.” Amélie said as she removed the items from the bag. 

“You mind if I ask a personal question?” Lena licked her lips as she waited for Amélie’s answer, knowing in these times people were more cautious. Even if Amélie had already risked herself by storing Lena in her attic. 

“Go ahead.” She replied, more focused on heating up their food than anything. 

“Noticed all your pictures are either face down, taken out or like completely torn up. Any reason?” 

“Oui.” Amélie attempted to delay giving an answer by filling up a kettle with water as if she were going to make some tea, her hands visibly shaking. 

“Any reason you wanna share?” Lena asked after a long silence, now leaning against the kitchen counter. 

Amélie put her wooden spoon down and looked Lena in the eyes, letting out a long sigh before answering, “The photos are of my husband, Gérard,” She paused, chewing at her bottom lip for a few moments, “I met him here not long after I began working in the clinic, he was a member of the Dutch police and came in after he was injured when they ran one of their drilling sessions. He seemed like a good man until I discovered he turned over a group of resistance fighters and many of our neighbours to the Nazis to gain favour. So,” Amélie sucked in a sharp breath and let it out, “I killed him.” 

Lena stared at her, caught completely off guard by the admission, “You killed him?!” She squeaked. 

“Keep your voice down,” She hissed, waving her off with the flick of her hand, “You will catch flies with your mouth open like that, chérie,” She smiled sadly, returning to cooking their soup and letting the tension in her shoulders give way, “I killed him because he killed  _ them, _ and leaving him was not an option.” 

“Right,” Lena said, trying to process the information Amélie was giving her. She stared a photo frame hanging on the wall near the kitchen cabinets, torn almost completely down the middle with Amélie on the half still remaining, “How’d you get away with it though, wouldn’t they have done something about it?” 

Amélie simply shrugged, watching the soup in the pot, “Non. He was not an important member of the Dutch police and he was not a member of the Nazi Party either. I had taken him out on a walk, saying that a walk in the snow at night would be romantic. I... I shot him in the back of the head and buried him in a frozen ditch well beyond where anyone would look for him.” Her words were cut off by the whistle of the kettle, stepping aside to pour them both some tea, “They  _ did _ investigate but they never suspected me, so I am safe, chérie.”

Lena slowly took a seat at the small two seater dining table, watching Amélie cook, “Guess he deserved it... How many neighbours did he hand over?” 

“Almost all of them. The one who lent me the books is the only one left in the building.” Amélie removed two bowls from the cupboards and began dishing out the soup into each one, trying to make them as even as possible. 

“Fucking Nazis.” Lena spat, leaning back in the chair. 

Amélie brought the bowls and bread to the table and set them down beside Lena. She walked around and shifted her seat next to her before sitting down. “Is it my turn to ask a question of you?” 

“Uh, sure, I guess.” She felt uncertain now, wondering what Amélie could possibly have in mind. 

“Who is the girl in that photo? The one you keep in your uniform pocket.” Amélie spooned some of the soup into her mouth. 

“That… Uh… That’s complicated.” Lena said, shoveling some soup in her own mouth to try and escape the topic of conversation. Even if Amélie had helped her when she found out she was pretending to be a man, that didn’t mean she would be accepting of  _ all  _ things. Amélie gave her the reprieve of a few minutes of silence before trying again. 

“She was important to you, oui?” Amélie put her spoon down, turning in her chair to look Lena in the eyes. 

“I guess you could say something like that, yeah.”

Amélie raised her eyebrow at the vague answers she was getting, “You look nervous, chérie. You are a…” She pursed her lips as she trailed off, obviously looking for the word in English, “You like to kiss women?” 

Lena couldn’t help but want to sink in her seat and just about die right then. She hadn’t even thought about the fact that if Amélie had removed her uniform and washed it that she would have seen the picture of Emily in there. She tapped her foot against the wooden floor, trying to figure a way out of this conversation.

“There is nothing wrong with that.” Amélie cut her thoughts off,reaching over to cup Lena’s face and pulling her in for a kiss - one that left her blushing a dark red.

Lena stiffened in her seat, letting Amélie kiss her before she finally pulled away. Amélie smirked when she noticed the way her face had changed colour during that, resembling the way she looked every time she helped Lena bathe. 

“See? I have no issue with you kissing women,” Amélie said, returning to eating her soup, “Who was she?” 

“Her name was Emily and I met her when she was working as a receptionist for a doctor near where I live. We lived together for a while and pretended to be roommates and friends because of… how it would look I guess,” Lena reached forward and tore herself off another piece of bread to run around the rim of her bowl and popped it into her mouth, “She died in the Blitz. November thirteenth - almost four years ago now. Whole building had come down around her and was on fire. I’d been stuck somewhere else when the air raid sirens went off. ” She swallowed, the lump in her throat growing as old memories resurfaced. “I loved her. Couldn’t even say goodbye, there wasn’t a body to say goodbye to,” She blinked away tears, “Decided to sign up for the war after that, mostly as revenge but also because it’s the right thing to do. Took a while to find a doctor who would lie for me and say I was a man so I could get in.” Lena shrugged before going back to her soup, clearing her bowl quickly. 

“Désolée, chérie. She must have been important to you.” Amélie’s expression was filled with both sadness and what Lena assumed was pity. This was the exact reason she didn’t like telling the story in the first place.

“It’s war. Shit happens.”

* * *

 

28th of September 1944

Lena did her best not to be awkward after their conversation the other day, particularly after Amélie had  _ kissed _ her. It was somehow harder to deal with than the fact that Amélie had seen her naked multiple times. The kiss was a choice, helping Lena bathe wasn’t much of one. She knew it wasn’t meant to mean anything, that it was only meant to reassure her that she was safe to be herself in Amélie’s home but that didn’t stop the bubble of hope. 

She hadn’t been interested in the idea of moving on until now. Being stuck in here with Amélie every evening meant they got to know each other fairly well in a short space of time and Lena couldn’t help but be attached to her already. The gentle touches and French pet names certainly didn’t make it any easier to keep the fact that she had been a married woman in her mind. 

Somewhere down the line, they’d officially run out of books for Lena to borrow off Amélie’s neighbour. It meant Lena spent most of her day waiting for Amélie to come home now, unable to keep herself entertained while she was at the clinic. When she was home, Amélie had begun reading from her own books to her, translating from French to English as she went as Lena rested her head in her lap. She tried her best to keep thoughts of how much she enjoyed Amélie’s fingers in her hair out of her mind.  

Lena couldn’t keep herself from practically pouncing on Amélie when she returned home that evening. She sat at the dining table as she waited, feet bouncing underneath as time passed. When she heard the sound of a key turning in the lock, Lena got up from her seat and made her way to the door. 

“Amélie!” She shouted, hugging her and wrapping her arms around the back of her neck. 

Amélie stiffened at the embrace, holding out her bag with their food in one hand and her keys in the other, “Lena, chérie, I just got home.”

Lena pulled back and hugged her own arms to her chest, “Sorry.” She said in an embarrassed mumble. 

Amélie dropped her keys on the table by the door and made her way to the kitchen, placing the bag on the countertop as she began to cook their dinner for the evening. The meal tonight was yet again soup and bread, something easy to hand out in tins it seemed. Lena was just grateful that Amélie chose to share her already abysmal rations with her. 

Dinner went as usual. The two of them chatted idly about memories from before the war as they tried to make the food last as long as possible. She had finally started to open up more about Emily, becoming more comfortable with the idea of talking about her for the first time since she died in the Blitz. 

“I remember this one time, me and Em, we were right in the middle of going at it. Both of us half naked when her father suddenly shows up,” Lena said with a grin, running a piece of bread around the rim of her bowl, “He had brought a ‘nice, young man’ to come and meet her that he had gotten to know from his workshop. We were just lucky that she had managed to talk him down from demanding a key to the place to make sure she was safe at all times.” 

Amélie laughed as she stood up from her seat at the table, taking her bowl back to the kitchen and placing it in the sink for now, “How do you think it would have gone if he had found out?” 

“Definitely not good. We were dealing with the fact that he might try make her get married right up until she died. We even talked about her just marrying someone to make her father get off her back but Emily refused, didn’t want to leave me alone, y’know?” Lena said, finishing off the bread that Amélie had left for her to eat. 

“What about your own parents?” Amélie asked, walking back to the table and taking Lena’s dirty dishes to clean them with her own. 

“My mother died when I was young and I don’t speak to my father anymore. Let’s just say we had some… personal differences.” 

Amélie raised an eyebrow at Lena but chose to say nothing further, letting her have her privacy on that topic. Lena stood up and followed her over to the sink, picking up a cloth to help Amélie by drying the bowls when she was done. She couldn’t do much to return Amélie’s generosity but she could at least do this.

“You know of a way to get a radio at all?” Lena asked when she placed the last of the dishes back in their rightful cupboards. 

“Perhaps. Why do you ask, chérie?” Amélie pursed her lips, watching her closely. 

“Partly because it’s boring as all hell hiding in your attic while you’re gone and partly because I need to know what’s going on for when I get better.” 

Amélie crossed her arms against her chest as she considered the idea, “Okay. We will have to go downstairs to find one, though. Come with me.” 

Lena followed Amélie quickly as she made her way to the door and headed out into the main stairwell of the building. It was largely than Lena had first thought, the stairs made from nice marble with a spiraling wooden bannister. Amélie made her way down one flight of stairs and entered the first apartment to the left of the stairs with Lena following her in seconds later.

The apartment was dusty and the larger pieces of furniture were covered in white sheets as if someone was planning to return after months of travel. There were no paintings or more personal effects inside. The only things that decorated the mantle over the fire was an older model radio and a menorah. 

Lena couldn’t help but frown, not wanting to disturb the apartment after that. She knew though that no one would be returning here. Amélie took hold of the radio, disconnecting it from the wall and hugging it to her chest as she made her way back to where Lena was standing. She seemed almost completely unaffected by the state of the apartment, giving Lena a sympathetic look when she noticed her reaction. 

“You’d think with all the bodies I’ve seen that this wouldn’t bother me.” Lena murmured, just loud enough for Amélie to hear here. 

“I would be more worried if you felt nothing when you saw it for the first time, chérie.” Amélie said. She shifted the radio to be carried by one arm, reaching out with the other to brush some of Lena’s fringe out of her eyes. 

Lena nodded and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of Amélie’s fingers in her hair. Amélie shifted the radio back to be carried by both her arms and headed for the door, making her way back out into the stairwell to head back to her home on the top floor. Lena lingered for a few moments longer, staring at the abandoned apartment before finally leaving too. 

* * *

 

4th of October 1944

Lena and Amélie sat huddled around their new radio on the floor of the attic. Amélie had agreed to let Lena use the radio and tune it into any station that she wished as long as she listened to it in the attic where no one could hear her. The building below was largely empty barring one neighbour, but there was no point risking everything on an assumption. 

Many of the channels that could be reached here were filled with Nazi propaganda, filled with delusional broadcasts about their success against the British and Americans. Lena switched the channels whenever the racism got worse than usual and became even harder to listen to. They were able to reach some of the channels from back home in England even if it was difficult to hear. 

They got comfortable together, settling in with one blanket wrapped around the both of them. It wasn’t quite large enough to cover the both of them sitting with space between them so Amélie’s arm found its way around Lena’s shoulders, pulling her in and letting her rest her head against her upper arm. 

“You are very cute and small, chérie. I do not know how they believed you were a man.” Amélie teased, bringing her hand on the other side of Lena’s shoulders up to her hair, scratching lightly at Lena’s scalp. 

Lena hummed happily at the contact but forced herself to feign a pout at the comment, “I’m not  _ that _ small.” 

Amélie looked down at Lena, a smirk playing on her lips and said nothing. The scowl on Lena’s face was wiped away at the kiss that was planted on her forehead. Within seconds she could feel her face warming up and Lena cursed the way she turned such a dark red when she blushed. 

“You are  _ also _ very cute when you turn bright red.” Amélie teased. She then surprised Lena again by bringing her free hand to her chin, tilting her head to look up at her before going in for a kiss on the lips. 

This one was far different from the other one days ago downstairs. That one was brief and seemed to have no meaning beyond Amélie showing her support in a weird way. This kiss was something  _ far  _ more.

Her lips were colder than she expected, much like her fingers. Lena finally remembered to close her eyes and tried to find something to do with her hands. The time since she had been with Emily seemed even longer now as Lena felt painfully inexperienced under Amélie’s touch.

The hand that had been at her chin was now at her hip, slipping its way underneath the hem of her pyjama top. Amélie rested her hand against Lena’s stomach and waited for some sign of protest. Of course, there was no protest from Lena. She might have been surprised by Amélie’s forwardness but she had no want at all to turn it down. 

Amélie finally pulled back, breathing hard against Lena’s lips, “Do you think that cot has room for two, chérie?” 

Lena grinned, running her hands up and down Amélie’s sides, “I think we can make do.”

* * *

 

10th of October 1944

It only took a few nights of the two of them sleeping together for Amélie to suggest that Lena ditch the cot up in the attic, at least at night. It was certainly warmer to share a bed together and easier than trying to source more blankets. Lena was more than happy to spend her nights curled up against Amélie’s side, it was better than what she had been getting out in the fighting. 

Lena’s breathing had improved, struggling less now that her chest was healing from the collapsed lung she had suffered after being shot. The pain had also improved a lot, almost completely gone as long as she didn’t push herself too hard now. She no longer needed any of Amélie’s help to do things except for changing her bandages, which she was almost ready to completely take off. 

She spent most of her days waiting for Amélie to come home and sitting in front of the radio in the attic, flipping between the channels. As her health improved, it became harder to stay here in Amélie’s apartment when the fighting was out there still. Every important news bulletin made Lena want to pick up her uniform and make her way back to the front but she knew better than that. 

Amélie returned that evening slightly later than usual, looking exhausted. She was beginning to look rather thin and Lena knew that she was looking the exact same. It only hardened her resolve for returning to the front lines, to let Amélie go back to having full rations again. Lena then noticed the lack of a brown paper bag in her arms. 

“No food?” Lena asked, a frown forming on her lips. 

“Not today, chérie. They would not give me answers, but I assume supply routes have been cut off. It means I will have to go in the mornings now to make sure I can get some food.” Amélie tossed her keys blindly on to the entranceway table. 

Amélie let out a long sigh, running her hands up and down her face, clawing at her hairline. Lena knew she was at least as hungry, if not hungrier, than she was feeling and must be feeling stressed. 

“Don’t worry too much, love. I’ll be out of your hair soon enough.” Lena crossed the room, reaching out and running her hand down Amélie’s upper arm, trying her best to soothe her.

“You are planning to go back?” Amélie asked, examining Lena’s face closely. 

“Well, yeah. The war’s not over and we can’t share the rations for one person forever, we’ll starve.” She took hold of Amélie’s hand, intertwining their fingers. 

Amélie’s brow furrowed, clearly concerned by the prospect of Lena returning to war, “What if I do not wish for you to go back? If I want you to stay?” 

“I’m real flattered by that, Amé, I am. But you know it won’t work when we share food like that. I can’t hide in your attic until the war is over, either.” Lena squeezed Amélie’s hand, rubbing the back of it with her thumb. 

Amélie took in a deep breath, reaching out to hold the back of Lena’s head and pulled her in close for a tight embrace, “I will help you get ready to head back, as long as you promise to write to me and live, chérie. I will be furious if you die.”

Lena couldn’t help but giggle and wrap her arms around Amélie’s waist, “Not like you could do much to punish me if I were dead, but I’ll keep that promise as best I can. Might even come back to you after, if you want it.” 

“I would like that very much, mon amour.” 

 


	2. Part Two

22nd of December 1944

Lena had left Amélie’s apartment in Arnhem on the sixth of December. She was more than healthy by the beginning of November and ready to return to the war, but finding a way to get in contact with the Allies had proven to be more difficult than she’d thought. It took nearly a month to discover a resistance group a couple towns over that were willing to help Lena get back in contact with her own commanding officer. 

After that, a plan was formed to sneak her out of occupied territory along with a group of soldiers and spies that had also been stuck behind enemy lines. It was hard to leave Amélie here. Lena had allowed herself to get attached to her and even to the degree of comfort brought by hiding in her apartment. It wasn’t made any easy when Amélie had revealed that she had tailored her uniform to fit better, so it no longer sagged and hung from her body. 

Lena had been given a relatively warm welcome when she met back up with her division, once she’d been thoroughly interrogated that was. They had assumed she’d died back in Arnhem and if she had any family to send notice to, they would have. She’d listed herself as an orphan when she had enlisted, making sure that even though her father was alive that he would have no clue what she was doing.

Her division were to drop into a French section of the Ardennes alongside the 6th Airborne Division but the weather had been terrible enough that they were forced to be transported via boats and trucks to the front lines. The Nazis had pushed back in an attempt to separate the American and British forces closing in on Germany. 

It was as they approached a small town on their route towards the German border, marching through the snow that they came across a lone American soldier. A man from the First Army, his uniform a little torn and covered in blood but he didn’t seem to be actually injured beyond a few visible cuts and bruises. Lena was the first person to make her way over to where he stood in the snow by himself. She cleared her throat, trying to deepen her voice.

“Oi! You alright?” Lena asked as she walked towards him, snow crunching under her boots. She was feeling incredibly grateful that Amélie had insisted on her taking extra pairs of socks before she left. 

“Think I’m alright.” The soldier replied in a Southern drawl. 

He turned to face her, revealing his scruffy beard and what Lena had thought was a helmet on his head was in fact a cowboy hat. Lena’s eyebrows drew together as she examined him, confused about how the hell he even made it out here with a hat like that. If she’d tried that, her commanding officer would have reamed her into next week. 

“Got lost from my unit in the fightin’. Been a real mess ‘round here, I swear.” He spoke again, lifting his hat off his head to run his hand through his hair, revealing a slightly outgrown buzz cut, thick curls just beginning at his hairline.

“Well, I’m sure you can just tag onto our division until we can get you back to your unit,” Lena said, gesturing with her thumb over her shoulder to her own division marching through the snow, “What’s your name?” 

“Jesse McCree, First Army.” He said, placing his hat back on his head as he began making his way towards the marching Airborne divisions. 

Lena scrambled to follow after him, “Sidney Oxton, First Airborne,” She grinned, only just remembering to deepen her voice for him. She had gotten out of practice while staying with Amélie, “How long you been serving?” 

“Got conscripted in 1943. I’m a little older, got away with it for a while before they ended up forcing me to come here.” Jesse grumbled to himself, staring at the snow in front of them. 

Lena nodded, hooking her thumbs in the straps of her backpack, “So you don’t want to be here then?” Certainly it wasn’t uncommon. 

“Nope.” He answered, popping the ‘p’ hard. 

“Why’s that?” Lena couldn’t help herself asking.

“None of your business, darlin’.” He huffed, walking further just further ahead of Lena.

Lena forced her way through the snow, kicking it up over the toes of her boots as she tried to close the distance between them. Obviously, Jesse wasn’t the open, sharing kind of person and it surprised Lena. Not everyone offered up everything about them, of course, but usually those who didn’t want to be here were fairly honest about why. 

It didn’t take too much longer for them to reach the small town they had been marching towards and they settled in some abandoned and partially destroyed buildings. Lena noticed Jesse setting himself up in the corner of the room with his backpack and a tattered blanket from inside it and she couldn’t resist joining him. He said nothing as she took a seat on the wooden floor and rifled through her own backpack, pulling out a blanket in a similar state to his. 

Just as she began to settle in to try and sleep, Lena’s commanding officer came through the doorway, holding bits of mail in his hand, “Oxton, letter for you.” He tossed the letter into her lap and Lena sat up with a wide grin on her face.

Not once since she joined the war has she received a letter of any kind. She knew exactly who it was from before she even looked at the sender. Lena still flipped it over in her hand, seeing in stupidly flawless cursive ‘Amélie Guillard’. She tore through the envelope and pulled the letter out, flipping open the paper. 

_ Dear Sid,                                                                                         16/12/1944 _

_ I know it has not even been two weeks since you left, chérie, but I could not resist sending this letter.  _ __   
__   
**_L_ ** _ ife is quieter here, now the fighting has moved on and I find myself missing our evenings listening to the radio. _ __   
__   
**_E_ ** _ ven with you eating all my rations and being an annoyance, I have grown to like you more than I would admit.  _ __   
__   
**_N_ ** _ ow I have no idea if you are okay or how long this letter might take to reach you because the radio is filled with lies.  _ __   
__   
**_A_ ** _ t least I have memories of our time together, and my hope that this letter will find you well and unharmed. _ __   
_   
_ __ Please make sure to write to me as soon as you can, mon amour. Having you away has made me more concerned than I expected. Keep your promise and come back to me soon. 

_ Amélie _

Lena let her head tilt back against the wall behind her, letting out a sigh. She felt relieved that Amélie’s letters seemed able to reach her from where she was. They hadn’t been certain that she would be able to find a way to send them while the area was still occupied by the Nazis. She seemed to be more resourceful than even Lena expected. 

“Lena, huh?” Jesse spoke up, making her heart race.

“Sorry, what?” She said, trying to play it off as she folded the paper back up and slipped it back into the envelope. 

Jesse looked around, making sure there wasn’t anyone close enough to listen in on their conversation before leaning closer to Lena, “Your letter. Envelope says Sidney, letter says Lena. You pretendin’ to be someone else?”

Lena felt herself beginning to panic, not answering Jesse’s question as she tried to think of what to do next. She had managed to get away with hiding her real identity for close to three years now. A lot of it had been luck, but some of it was practice as well from the few times that she and Emily had decided to take a risk and go out on dates in public.

“Relax,” He murmured, “I ain’t goin’ to tell anyone. You just gotta promise to tell me how you did it. Not now, but… eventually. Seems like it’d be a good story.” 

Jesse gave Lena a pat on the head before he shifted to be lying on the floor, placing his hat over his face to block out the light. Lena stared at him a few more moments before doing the same, pulling the blanket to cover up most of her body. She didn’t know what to say, really. Lena didn’t even know whether Jesse meant it when he said he was going to keep her secret, but it wasn’t like she had much of a choice. She would just have to trust him.

* * *

 

25th of December 1944

Lena had woken up the next morning extra early to scribble her reply to Amélie’s letter. She wondered how long it would take for her to receive it. Probably a week at least. It was better than not being able to talk at all, even if it were frustrating. As soon as it was written, she made her own envelope by folding some paper and addressed it to Amélie with no sender’s information on the back. 

Once she’d handed it over, Lena returned to her backpack and put away her things, ready to be deployed for the day. They were finally going to join the fighting and Lena was itching to go. It wasn’t that she enjoyed the violence, it was more that she enjoyed feeling like she was doing  _ something _ , even if it wasn’t much. 

She and Jesse followed along at the back of the group, most of them marching in silence. Morale was lower than normal, the Nazis weren’t taking a break even on Christmas and neither would they. Jesse said nothing for the first ten or so minutes, walking right at Lena’s side with his thumbs hooked into the straps of his backpack. 

“So, how’d you manage to join the army as a woman? S’far as I know, they still don’t let you do that.” He finally asked, watching Lena as they walked.

Lena chewed her lip, considering for a moment the possibility of just lying to him but thought better of it, “Took a while. Had to find a doctor that would say I was a fit man ready for enlistment and most turned me away. Took over a year and like fifteen different doctors before I found someone who was willing to lie for me. Got enlisted not long after that.” 

Jesse nodded, looking around the men in front of them to check that no one had been listening in on their conversation, “How do you keep it a secret? Can’t imagine it’s easy.”

“Bit of luck, bit of practice,” She hummed, thinking of what to say next, “Fashioned some material to bind my chest using some mesh and bandages, do my best to get around all communal shower and piss times. Started shaving my face too to make myself seem normal. The guys like to mock me for having nothing on my face but I don’t think they actually know anything.” 

“Practice?” He asked, scratching at his hairline with his thumb under his hat.

Lena hesitated for a moment, “Yeah, used to go on dates with my girlfriend and would dress up like a guy so we wouldn’t get any trouble for it.” 

“Ah,” Jesse said, a small smile playing on his lips, “She happy with you bein’ out here?” 

“Well,” Lena started, “She’s not around to complain. Died in the Blitz. I’m sure if she were here, she would want me to move on rather than spend my time out here hunting Nazis.”

“Fair ‘nough. Assume that’s not goin’ to stop you though, yeah?” 

“Well, I’m here, aren’t I?” She scoffed. 

“True.” 

The conversation paused there, minutes of silence passing between them as they walked several meters behind Lena’s division. She pursed her lips as she wondered what to say. Jesse seemed nice enough, pretty understanding for a random stranger and it made Lena want to know exactly why. 

“Why’re you so nice? Almost anyone else would have turned me in to have me sent home or like… At least been upset by me saying I had a girlfriend.” Lena tightened her backpack straps, trying to find something to fiddle with. 

“Guess it’s ‘cause I’m in a similar boat,” Jesse said with a shrug, eyes now focused on the boot marks in the snow ahead of them, “Had a boyfriend back home in New Mexico. His name was Genji and we did a pretty good job of keeping it secret. He’s in one of those Japanese camps now, can’t get out,” He paused, letting out a slow shaky breath, “S’why I didn’t want to serve at all. Actin’ like we’re better than they are when we’re doing that back home.”

Lena stopped in her tracks, frowning as she watched Jesse slowly come to a stop too, “I’m sorry, man. Didn’t realise it’d be something like that.” 

“It’s alright. Nothin’ you can do about it. Just want this to be over so I can go home, y’know?” Jesse gave her a sad smile before turning back to begin walking again. 

“Yeah, I get you.”

* * *

 

3rd of January 1945

The next letter Lena received from Amélie came over a week later. It was brought to her when she returned to the makeshift base her commanding officer had set up in the small town for more supplies. She couldn’t help but grin as the envelope was placed in her hands, flipping it around to look at Amélie’s name printed on the back. 

Like the last time, she tore open the envelope and tugged out the paper. She flicked it open and held it in her hands as she made her way back out the door, abandoning the idea of collecting more supplies for now. This was far more important. 

_ Dear Sid,                                                                                                  1/01/1945 _

_ I am so happy to hear that you arrived safely. I know you cannot tell me where you are, but I do hope the winter is not too harsh for you. It has been very cold here in Arnhem, so much so that I had to remove the extra blankets from the cot in the attic to keep warm. There is no heating in this building anymore and I have had to wear more layers to deal with the cold.  _

_ Was there at least a ceasefire for Christmas? The propaganda on the radio here has been saying the Nazis fought through the holiday, but I have no clue whether that is actually the truth or not. Do you believe the war will end soon?  _

_ I have purchased some more books in English since I know you enjoy reading so much. Hopefully, you will be able to look through them soon. Perhaps you can finally learn some French. When the war is over, I am hoping to return to Annecy. I still own a chateau there and I think you would like that. Assuming you would still like to see me.  _

_ Thinking of you,  _

_ Amélie _

Lena grinned as she finished reading the letter, slipping it back into its envelope and tucking it away in her uniform pocket that also held the photo she had of Emily. She wouldn’t be able to reply now, but maybe if she grabbed some paper on her way out, she could get manage to find the time later in the evening. 

She headed back inside, collecting some more ammunition for her rifle and swiping some paper from one of the tables on her way out. Lena dashed her way between buildings to make it back to the spot that Jesse had made for himself behind a half demolished brick wall. She managed to duck behind cover just as a bullet whizzed right past her. It was hard to deny the adrenaline rush. 

The two of them and four other men from Lena’s division held the position for over an hour before Jesse was clipped in the shoulder by a bullet as he popped over the top of the brick wall. He cried out, dropping his rifle to the ground beside him as his hand grabbed at the wound. Lena crouch walked closer to him, trying to get a look and evaluate the damage done to him even as his hand blocked her view. 

“Fuck! Jesse, move your goddamn hand.” Lena shouted as she pried his hand away from his shoulder. 

Jesse finally pulled his hand away to let Lena look, “Don’t worry, it’s just a fuckin’ graze. Bleedin’ like all hell, though.” He huffed, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to ride out the pain. 

Lena managed to get a closer look and came to the same assumption, it was a deep graze through his upper arm. She shifted her backpack off her shoulders and onto the ground between them, trying to find something that she could use as some form of bandage. Jesse rested his hand on hers to stop her when she began removing her blanket. 

“Don’t do that, I got someone we can get help from. Just help me up, I’m gettin’ old.” 

She did as he said, pulling her bag shut and moving it back onto her shoulders before standing up, just ducked underneath the top of the wall. Lena gave him her hand to help him get to his feet as well before picking up both of their rifles. Jesse leaned on her with his uninjured arm and lead the two of them away from most of the fighting. 

Lena was confused at first as they got further and further away from the fighting and also further away from the makeshift base her division had set up. Instead, Jesse lead the two of them back into parts of the small town they had already captured and into a cottage. Most of the buildings here were either empty or had families inside attempting to hide from fighting nearby.  

Inside the cottage were a few beds, some empty and some with injured patients that looked to be in the midst of treatment. There was a blonde woman standing at the end of the front room, folder in hand and wearing a doctor’s lab coat. She hadn’t noticed them until Jesse pushed his way further into the cottage, heavy boots clunking against the wooden floor. 

"Wer zum Teufel sind Sie?" The woman shouted, holding the folder closer to her chest now. She was clearly uncomfortable with the two of them appearing on her doorstep, "Sind Sie Amerikaner?"  

Lena was about to speak before Jesse cut her off, “I heard the word American. Yeah, I am. You speak English? Heard you guys are good for treatment.” He shifted off Lena’s shoulder and walked closer towards the woman. 

“I do. Who are you?” She seemed to relax a little, the tension in her shoulders dissipating as she took a few steps towards Jesse.

“You mean you don’t remember me from the last time you patched me up?  _ Darlin’ _ , you’ve hurt my feelings. I wear a cowboy hat too, can’t be that easy to forget.” He teased with a grin, almost as if he had forgotten his own injury. 

The woman continued to study him closely for a few moments before she broke out into a smile, clearly finally remembering him now, “Jesse? How long has it been since you last were here?” 

“Probably a good year now, I think.” Jesse hooked his thumbs in the waist of his uniform, as he had a belt buckle there. 

Lena cleared her throat, getting the attention of the both of them to remind them that she was still here. The woman chuckled and crossed the room, extending her hand to Lena for a handshake. She accepted it and was surprised to see this woman adorning everything that would make her think she was a doctor. 

“I’m Angela Ziegler, but my identification cards say I am Ilse Müller. Welcome to the Jewish Resistance.” 

“I’m Lena, but I go by Sidney Oxton,” She paused, staring at the stethoscope around Angela’s neck, “You a nurse pretending to be a doctor?”

“In a way. I have received the training and experience to be one and I work here as a doctor, but no, I’m not one officially,” Angela paused, eyeing the still bleeding wound on Jesse’s arm before guiding him to sit on one of the empty beds, “Reinhardt!” She called out. 

Lena heard someone coming up the stairs from the basement, heavy boots clunking before a ridiculously huge man came out from behind the door. He had to be at least seven feet tall and Lena couldn’t stop her mouth from hanging open as she stared up at him. The man, Reinhardt, wasn’t just tall either, he was packed with well defined muscle. 

“You will catch flies like that, little one.” He said with a chuckle, his German accent strong and thick. 

Lena watched as Jesse stripped the top half of his uniform and Angela sat beside him, beginning to treat the wound. She shrugged her backpack off and rested it in the corner, stretching herself out. It was only when she was given time to relax that she would feel the tension in her muscles at all times. 

"Reinhardt, trag bitte die Kiste Vorräte für mich wieder nach unten. Versteck es so gut es geht, wir wissen nicht ob irgendwelche Nazis den beiden hierher gefolgt sind." Angela ordered. 

“You can be sure we weren’t followed.” Lena spoke up, folding her arms against her chest.

Angela paused her attentions to Jesse’s arm for a moment, “You speak German?” 

“I do. Not completely useless as many of you continentals seem to think. Just don’t like to advertise it.” 

She studied Lena closely before giving a curt nod, returning to her work. Reinhardt grinned and patted Lena on the top of her helmet before following Angela’s instructions. He picked up two boxes in the corner, stacking them up on top of each other before heading back down into the basement.

“You guys all German?” Lena asked.

“No, we have people from all over the place. I’m from Switzerland, but I decided to come to France to do my best to help the Jewish Resistance when I heard about it. Reinhardt is obviously German though.” Angela had finished her work on Jesse and began cleaning up after herself.

“You guys all Jewish then?” 

Angela chuckled as she threw away the rubbish and her gloves, “ _ I am _ , but Reinhardt and many others are not. The resistance is named after our motivation, not based on those involved.” 

“Right,” Lena said, watching as Jesse redressed himself in his uniform and stood back up, “Thanks for helping us out. Wish you guys luck with not being found.” 

Angela gave them a wave before going back to tending to the other patients under her care. Jesse said his own goodbyes and picked up his backpack from the ground, taking his rifle back from Lena as they left the cottage. It was nice to know people like them were still around.

* * *

 

9th of January 1945

Amélie’s next letter arrived a lot sooner than Lena could have expected, not that she was complaining. It was brought to her by one of the men in her division, tossing it at her while she was trying to catch a short nap on the floor of an abandoned house. She woke up to the letter hitting her in the face causing her to sit up and rub at her eyes as she realised what was in front of her. 

She flipped over the letter, seeing Amélie’s name printed on the back before tearing it open to pull the paper out from inside. In the last letter Lena had sent Amélie, she had informed her that she had been learning some French from one of the men in her division, Harry. He didn’t take her seriously at first, but as soon as she said it was for a woman, Harry was more than willing to help her. 

_ Dear Sid,                                                                                             7/01/1945  _

_ I am glad to hear that you are learning French, perhaps there is hope for the English after all. Write back to me when you can read the following: _

_ Mon chatton, _ __   
__   
_ La seule chose qui me manque plus que la présence de tes doigts entre mes lèvres est le son des cries que je t’arrache lorsque je te fais mienne. _ __   
__   
_ Mes nuits sont longues et dans leur solitude je rêve de ton sourire, de tes yeux. De tes lèvres. De ta langue. _ __   
__   
_ Oh mon cœur, comme je rêve de ta langue et de ce que tu sais en faire. _ __   
__   
_ Je brûle de pouvoir te tenir dans mes bras et, enfin, t’embrasser à nouveau. _ __   
_   
_ __ Reviens-moi, je te démontrerai à quel point j’ai mal de ton absence.

_ I look forward to reading your reply, _

_ I remain yours,  _

_ Amélie _

Lena turned the letter over in her hand, squinting at the writing in front of her. Almost all of it was written in a language she couldn’t understand. She tucked it and the envelope pocket as she got up from where she’d been laying to go find Harry. It was hard to resist running straight to him, curiosity nipping at her heels with every step. 

She found him standing with Jesse and a couple others around a small fire, keeping them warm in the snowy evening. Lena made her way up towards them, the snow kicking up over the top of her boots as she got closer. 

“Oi, Harry.” Lena called out.

Harry turned around to look at her, his pale hands rubbing together over the fire and a dorky grin on his face. He was a tall, wiry man with ginger hair and a sea of freckles on his cheeks. Much like Lena’s own helmet, Harry’s was far too big for his head and he had to hold it back out of his face to prevent it from knocking against his thick rimmed glasses. 

“Sid! What do you need?” He asked, resting his hands on his hips. Lena was just glad she had enough experience to understand his near incoherent Glaswegian accent. 

“Got a letter, most of its in French. Need your help to read it.” She grinned up at him, fishing it out of her shirt pocket before handing it over to him.

“Sure thing, lad.” Harry took the letter out of her hands, flipping the paper open and leaning closer to the fire to get a better look at it. He hummed to himself as he began reading it before a smirk grew on his face. Lena realised she’d made a mistake handing it over to him then.

When Lena darted forward to try swipe it out of his hands, Harry stepped back and raised the letter up to take it out of Lena’s reach, “My beautiful pet,” He started, “The only thing I miss more than the feeling of your fingers between my legs are the cries you made when I made you mine.” 

Lena could feel her face turning a dark red in her embarrassment as Harry and the others had their fun. Jesse patted her on the shoulder with a chuckle as he listened in. 

“My nights are long, and lonely. I dream about your smile, your eyes, your lips, your tongue,” Harry continued, practically hooting now, “Oh, my heart, how I dream about your tongue, and what you are doing with it. I long for your kisses, and to hold you in my arms. Come back to me soon, so I can show you how desperately I have longed for you all this time.”

Harry licked his lips before reading out the end of it, “I look forward to reading your reply. I remain yours, Amélie,” He paused, tapping at his lips with a finger, “You know, this actually rather sweet. Good for you, Sid.” 

Lena finally let out a sigh of relief as Harry passed the letter back to her with a matching pat on the top of her head. She folded the letter and tucked it back into the pocket with the envelope, glad now that Amélie had been careful not to say anything too revealing in case that it would give her away to the other men in her division.  

Once her embarrassment melted away, she got to think about the contents of Amélie’s letter and felt warm in another way. She couldn’t keep her mind off what Amélie must have planned for when Lena returns when the war is over. Lena swallowed thickly and made her dash back to the building she had been sleeping in for the evening. It was going to take her a while to come up with a good enough reply to that.

* * *

 

22nd of January 1945 

Lena marched along with Jesse at her side, her thumbs hooked into the straps of her backpack and rubbing the back of one of them against her breast pocket. Inside it was the most recent letter that Amélie had sent her. She was planning to save it for when they found a place to settle for the evening and could read it in peace. 

They were heading up towards Antwerp to meet the divisions of the British and American armies that they had been separated from. It also gave them a chance to have Jesse return to his unit along the way, they couldn’t be too much further ahead of them on the journey. The allied counteroffensive had been effective enough that the next move seemed to be pushing into Germany. Lena didn’t want to get her hopes up just yet, not when things could change at any moment out here. 

It was as they began to head into the late afternoon that Harry stepped directly on top of a mine buried in the ground. Lena saw it out of the corner of her eye, witnessing Harry’s feet being blown out from underneath him with dirt and snow being kicked up as well. She was knocked back into Jesse who had been just behind her, bringing her arms up to protect her face just in time to take the brunt of the blow. 

All she could hear after was a ringing noise in her ears. Jesse rolled her over onto her back and checked her for serious injuries. She could see that he was speaking to her, but she couldn’t tell what. Lena didn’t know whether it was the shock or the adrenaline but she didn’t feel much pain. 

Lena looked around her, wanting to see what had become of Harry and others. There were a few other men just like her that had been knocked back and only mildly wounded. Harry, however, was dead. She stared at his body for a few seconds before she forced herself to look away. The image of his blown up corpse would be burned into her brain forever. 

Jesse slipped one arm under Lena’s knees and the other under her back to pick her up, cradling her against his front. She didn’t know where he was taking her but didn’t put up much of a fight. It didn’t feel like she was seriously injured. 

Medics from her division made quick work of setting up makeshift stations, placing the others on some blankets while they did their best to identify and treat the wounds. Jesse took her away from that, doing his best to slip away out of sight during the chaos to get a look at Lena by himself. He knew her secret would be at risk if a medic was able to peel open her uniform to treat her. 

Lena was lucky. She only received minor cuts, bruises and burns from the landmine exploding on the road. The only serious injury she received was hearing loss, something that Jesse could only hope was temporary. Even his own ears were ringing but Lena was obviously not responding to his questions. 

She could feel him wiping up blood from both of her ears. Jesse took out a small first-aid kit he had stored in his own backpack to tend to her more minor injuries. He managed to do a good job of keeping attention away from Lena, taking advantage of all the chaos created by a surprise landmine. 

The division decided to end their march for the day early, taking their injured to a nearby farm to settle inside the barn. Jesse held Lena walk the distance, keeping her upright with a hand on her back. Her body ached but it wasn’t anything that Lena couldn’t handle. The pain from her injury back in Arnhem had been much worse. What was more difficult was the loss of her hearing. 

Jesse helped the two of them settle in a corner of the barn, in an area that looked like it was meant for horses, to keep out of sight for now. Lena was glad for the privacy, using it to undo some of the mesh that had been keeping her breasts flattened and to finally read the letter that Amélie had sent her. She opened the envelope and unfolded the paper. 

_ Dear Sid,                                                                                   19/01/1945 _

_ I have been told by the resistance forces here that I have been working with as a nurse in exchange for them to send my letters to you that the war might be coming to an end soon. They could not say when, as no one can truly know, but I am making preparations to be ready to return to France the minute I am able.  _

_ I hope that you would be willing to join me there, chérie. My chateau will have more than enough room for you to live there and we would not be limited by rations any further. You were right to leave when you did in December, our rations were limited even more due to famine. I am not sure we would have both lived if you had stayed.  _

_ I miss you. I hope the war ends soon.  _

_ Love,  _

_ Amélie.  _

Lena’s heart picked up, beating hard and fast at the words ‘Love, Amélie’. She couldn’t have  _ meant _ that, could she? Perhaps it was a mix up. Amélie’s English was certainly not as good as her Dutch or French. It wasn’t panic that she was feeling. She was  _ excited _ . Lena wanted for this to be what Amélie meant, that she loved her even if it wasn’t a very straightforward way of saying it. 

She went to sleep that night the happiest she had been in years, regardless of her injuries.

* * *

 

19th of April 1945 

Along the journey towards Berlin from the west, Jesse had been returned to his unit. They had been not much further ahead than Lena’s division and the two of them said their goodbyes with a tight embrace. She hadn’t expected to find someone in this war to bond with like that, certainly not anyone who was also serving anyway. Lena had resigned herself to being mostly alone throughout a few months into her enlistment. 

With Jesse gone and Harry dead, Lena had no one to walk beside as they moved along the continent. They hadn’t been particularly close but she would still miss Harry’s god awful accent even when she sometimes still struggled to understand him. Her injuries had mostly healed since the landmine incident. 

The cuts, bruises and burns had cleared up mostly within a week or so but the loss of hearing took a while longer. Her hearing in her right ear returned entirely, turning out to be only temporary but her left ear, the one that had been closer to the explosion, only came back somewhat. She struggled to hear anything on that side at all, but she did her best to conceal the damage from her commanding officer. 

Loss of hearing was enough to be discharged from the army and Lena didn’t want to risk that when they were so close. They were only days away from the centre of Berlin, possibly even closer than that. She wasn’t going to let herself be sent home now just because she was now hard of hearing. 

Lena hadn’t received a letter from Amélie in nearly three weeks. She hadn’t gone more than two weeks without contact since she left Arnhem, but she did her best to try keep herself from panicking. The last letter she had received from her said that she was looking to leave the Netherlands for good within the next few days and Lena could only hope that was the cause of delay. 

As her division made its way into the outskirts of Berlin, they came across a woman adorning a Russian uniform clearly marked with Red Army patches. She was unnaturally tall, taller than most men that Lena had ever met and it reminded her of the man she had met back in France, Reinhardt. The woman was no less defined than him either. 

She was pinned down, rifle in hand, behind a building as she fired back at the enemy. Those from Lena’s division found their own positions and joined in on the firefight. There was the tossing of grenades and bullets flying everywhere. 

It was confusing to see a soldier from the Red Army on  _ this  _ side of Berlin. Based on the intelligence her commanding officer had shared, they were already on Berlin but in the east instead. She wondered how this woman had gotten so far through the city. 

More than two hours passed before the fighting stopped, the last of the enemy either dead or having fled from the fighting. Lena slung her rifle over her shoulder and made her way towards both the bodies of the enemy and towards the Russian woman who was now tending to a few small injuries she’d sustained. 

“Speak English?” Lena asked as she closed the distance between them. 

“Da. I speak much English.” The woman replied, looking up at her. 

“What’re you doing here this far over? Shouldn’t you be with your unit or something?” She unclasped her canteen, holding it out to the woman in offering. 

“I am not with Red Army. I wear uniform so allies do not shoot.” She took the canteen off of Lena, twisting the cap and pouring some into her mouth, making sure to leave some for Lena.

“What’s your name then?” 

“Aleksandra Zaryanova, call me Aleks.” She answered, passing the canteen back to Lena when she was done. 

“I’m Sid.” Lena said, extending her arm for a handshake. 

Aleks took it, shaking Lena’s hand with a vice grip. She couldn’t believe how strong this woman seemed to be, just from that. Aleks slung her own rifle back over her shoulder and lifted her helmet to run her hands through her hair, revealing the star shaped scar over her eye. 

Lena watched as Aleks turned on her heels, heading for where the enemy soldiers had been hidden behind the corner of a building. She followed after quickly when she saw the look on her face, a mixed expression of disgust and anger. It didn’t take long for Lena to see why Aleks had that reaction. 

All the enemy soldiers were teenage boys. Most of them having been not much older than sixteen years old. It seemed that they had been tasked with helping defend the city from the allied forces closing in. They didn’t even have uniforms that fit properly, almost all of them too big and looked to be mixed and matched from various divisions. 

“Nazis.” Aleks spat, stepping away and choosing to walk further into the city now. 

It took Lena a moment to force herself to stop staring at the sight in front of her, scrambling to follow after Aleks, “Wait!”  

Aleks paused in her tracks, looking back over her shoulder at Lena as she closed the distance between them, “Da?” 

“How’d you join the army? You’re a woman, can’t imagine they would’ve let you.” 

She chuckled, crossing her arms against her broad chest, “I helped defend Stalingrad from Nazis when others failed. When I decided to keep going, no one stopped me.” 

Lena couldn’t help but be in awe of Aleks, not just because of her hulking physique but also her determination and bravery. Even more knowing she had done it without deception or disguise. As Aleks, Lena, and her division made their way street by street, further into the capital of Germany, there was an undeniable sense of hope that this was all going to be over soon.

* * *

 

8th of May 1945

Lena couldn’t describe the relief she felt when she heard the news that the Nazis had fallen and had signed the terms of unconditional surrender. While she had felt she was doing the right thing out here and satisfying her own needs after Emily’s death, the fact that it was over released all the tension in her body that she had carried for years.

She had finally received a letter from Amélie in the midst of the fighting in Berlin in the last week of April, putting an end to her fears of something having gone wrong. As soon as it was placed in her hands, Lena tore it open and nearly ripped the paper of the letter in her attempts to pull it out. 

It had told her that Amélie had finally returned to her chateau in Annecy, France, now that the occupation had ended in France and practically crumbled to nothing in the Netherlands as well. The journey had taken longer than usual as Amélie had to go out of her way to avoid the fighting in the middle of the continent, but she was safe now. 

The British army had finally begun sending soldiers home that were no longer necessary as the key members of the Third Reich were rounded up or confirmed dead. Lena had achieved her own personal goals and nothing could stop her from being some of the first to get on a train to get out of Berlin. She took her discharge orders from her commanding officer and made her way to the train station the first thing that morning. 

She waited on the platform, tapping the toe of her boot against the concrete as she waited for them to be allowed to board the train. Lena was one of the few British soldiers with tickets for this particular train, destined for Paris but with stops in France along the way. Most were planning to return to London before carrying on to their homes elsewhere throughout the country but Lena was keeping her promise. 

Before she had left for the train station that morning, she had passed on one last letter intended for Amélie to inform her that she would be returning to her. Lena had Amélie’s new address kept in her latest letter in her pocket for when she arrived and hoped to surprise her, knowing she’d arrive before her own letter would. 

Lena scrambled to find her way onto the train as soon as she could, getting herself a seat as fast as she could. She’d spent the last three years serving in the war, she wouldn’t miss out on the opportunity to be able sit down for an entire day. 

She was so glad that she was finally going home. 

 


	3. Part Three

9th of May 1945

Lena resisted falling asleep on the train, not wanting to miss her stop if for any reason she might oversleep. It had been half a year since she’d had the chance for a full night’s sleep and she didn’t want to risk it. She was also far too excited knowing that a day of travel was now all that stood between her and Amélie. She hadn’t quite worked it out yet, how she was going to get to Amélie’s chateau from the train station but she figured that she could walk, if it came to that. Luckily, she’d had the practice.

She arrived in Annecy just after midday on the ninth of May, barely over a day after she left Berlin for good. Lena didn’t bother trying to get off the train straight away at the station. Even though it wasn’t the final stop for this route, far too many people were trying to get off at once for her to bother. After a few minutes, she finally stood up and collected her bag from where she had stored it underneath her seat.

Lena stepped off the train, stretching. She caught sight of something and blinked. And blinked again. She could have sworn her exhaustion had gotten to her. It looked like Amélie was waiting for her at the end of the platform. She stared at her, her brow furrowed as she wondered whether she was seeing things up until Amélie waved her over.  

Once she realised it _was_ her, Lena couldn’t stop herself from trying to sprint across the platform as if her body had a mind of its own. She was grateful for her small size as she slipped through gaps between people. Lena did her best to ignore the annoying jostle of her pack against her shoulders and the way her helmet tipped forward over her eyes. She didn’t care about that when Amélie was _right there._

She looked gorgeous, as expected. Even back in the Netherlands when she spent almost all her time bundled up in multiple sweaters with a coat on top, she’d managed to look stunning and elegant. Amélie might have been back in France for only a month or so now, but she was still looking rather thin from her time in the Netherlands. Now that she was here and the weather was much warmer, she’d exchanged that coat for a navy skirt to the knees, a blouse with a bow at the collar, and a pair of dark heels. Her hair hadn’t changed; it was still pinned up in rolls on the top of her head. Neither had her makeup, her lips painted familiar a dark red.

Amélie had a smile on her face already, having seen her the moment she’d jumped off the train and she smiled even wider as Lena began her sprint. Nothing could prepare her for when Lena collided with her, arms spread wide, without having slowed down at all. The two of them stumbled but regained their balance as Amélie returned the extremely tight embrace.

“Oh god, I missed you so much,” Lena murmured, pressing her face into Amélie’s blouse, “You smell so nice.”

Amélie chuckled, running her palm up and down Lena’s back, “You _do not_ smell so nice, chérie. How long has it been since you had a proper shower?”

“No clue. Maybe you could join me for one when we get home, hm?” She teased.

“You have only been here two minutes and you are already asking to see me naked. You certainly have not changed.” The two of them stood for several minutes before Amélie pulled away from the embrace, instead slipping her hand into Lena’s as she began to walk them out of the station.

“How’d you know to meet me here, love? No way my letter arrived within a day.” Her curiosity returned the minute she wasn’t distracted by having Amélie back in her arms.

“I have been waiting here each day when the trains come in from Berlin, just in case you are on one of them.”  

Lena couldn’t help but blush brightly at that. It was _incredibly_ sweet, “Here? _Every day_?”

“Oui.” Amélie looked completely unfazed by her own admission, leading the two of them to a nearby parked car.

“You missed me that much, love?” Lena grinned, both pleased and shocked to know Amélie wanted to see her return from the front that much.

“Of course I did, mon amour,” Amélie paused, tugging Lena close by her hand and leaned down to place a gentle, brief kiss on her lips, “I will show you just how much I have missed you later tonight.”

Lena let out a slow breath at that and nodded mutely.

Before she got too far ahead of herself, Amélie tugged her again by her hand and continued walking the short distance to a parked car. Inside was a man dressed in a suit who immediately climbed out of the car and headed around to the footpath. He opened the back door and smiled at them, gesturing for them to get inside.

Amélie slipped inside the backseat of the car first, patting the spot next to her inside for Lena to join her. She hesitated for a moment, seeing the expensive car and the fact that Amélie had a driver before finally climbing inside as well.

“How rich _are_ you? Nice car and someone to drive it for you.” Lena said as she dumped her pack on the floor of the car in front of her. It was a habit to keep it with her at all times, she hadn’t even considered putting it in the back of the car.

Amélie simply chuckled and relaxed in her seat, “If you are impressed by this, wait until you see my home, chérie.”  

It took just over half an hour in order to reach Amélie’s chateau from the train station. Lena gaped and pressed herself up against the glass of the window as they approached on a connecting bridge. It was _huge_.

“You will catch flies like that, mon amour.” Amélie cupped the bottom of Lena’s chin, smiling at the expression on her face.

“Well, you said you lived in a chateau, not a _castle_.”

“I did not lie, it is a chateau. It is just a large one.” Amélie couldn’t hide the smug expression on her face at Lena’s reaction.

Lena scoffed as they pulled up in front of the main doors and the driver got out to help both of them out of the car. Now that she was surrounded by fresh air, she could _definitely_ smell how desperately she was in need of a shower now. She slung her backpack over one shoulder and followed Amélie as she lead the way inside the chateau through a large set of double doors.

The inside of the chateau looked to be under renovation, ladders and paint tins littered the main hall with the walls half painted. Even though the restorations seemed to be still in progress, Lena could see it was well on its way to being a wonderful home. Amélie lead her up the main staircase and to the master bedroom.

“I purchased you some clothes for when you arrived. I believe I accurately guessed that you would come with nothing other than your uniform. The bathroom is attached to the bedroom so take a shower and get changed, take your time, chérie.” She said, kissing Lena on the forehead before heading back down the stairs.

Lena watched as Amélie made her way down the stairs before entering the bedroom alone, shrugging her pack off and placing it on the ground. She took her uniform off and sighed with relief as she was able to completely remove the mesh and bandage binder around her chest for the first time since December. She tossed it aside, more than excited to burn that for good at a later date.

Once she had stripped down, Lena walked into the bathroom and took a long, hot shower and soaked up every second of it. It felt so good to be clean again and she could feel the warmth easing the tension from her muscles. She knew she was going to sleep well tonight, especially when Amélie would be in the same bed as her.

When she got out, she spent some time in front of the mirror above the sink, looking at the scars on her body from the many times she’d been cut and burned and most memorably, from the time she’d been shot. Lena ran her hand through her hair, smiling at the feeling of it being properly clean for the first time in months.

It took her a while to remember that Amélie was waiting for her downstairs and she finally turned off the water, getting out of the shower and drying off her body. The clothes that had been laid out for her on the bed were simple enough, a pair of grey slacks that actually appeared to be her size, and a white t-shirt. She sighed loudly with relief when she put clean clothes on her body and took her time stretching herself out.

It was almost half an hour after which Lena left the bedroom and went downstairs to join Amélie. She wandered around the halls for a while before discovering Amélie in the kitchen, cooking what seemed to be a late lunch for the both of them. Lena couldn’t help but grin.

“Surprised to see you don’t have a cook with a place like this.” She said, leaning on the doorframe as she watched Amélie.

“I have not been home long enough to find myself a cook. Perhaps with you here, I might look for one, hm?”

The two of them ate lunch together at the large oak dining table. Amélie had cooked them both a bowl of spaghetti each and Lena groaned with delight at almost every mouthful. She’d been fed when she was serving, but it was scarcely warm and even more rarely good. This meal was both and Lena inhaled the entire bowl.

They spent the rest of their afternoon lounging on the couch. Amélie sat on one end with a paperback book in her hands and Lena’s head in her lap, reading an Agatha Christie novel she had located back in the Netherlands. Lena wasn’t really listening to what was going on in the book, if she were honest, far more focused on Amélie’s wonderful accent lulling her slowly to sleep.

Amélie woke her up a few hours later with a quick shake of her shoulder, “Lena, wake up, chérie. I have to make us some dinner and cannot do that with your head in my lap,” She smiled warmly down at her as Lena finally woke up and sat back up, “How about you make a fire in the fireplace for us while I cook?”

Lena rubbed at her eyes and gave Amélie a lazy nod as she heard the clicking of her heels as she walked towards the kitchen. She stood up from the couch and made her way to the fireplace, crouching down in front of it and taking a few bits of wood in the rack beside it to begin starting it. It only took her a few minutes to get it started, having had countless hours of practice in the war.

She took the chance to have a quick look around while Amélie was cooking their dinner, noticing a small wooden box on the top of the coffee table that caught her eye. Lena couldn’t resist opening it and grinned when she saw the contents. Inside was all the letters she had sent Amélie throughout the war and Lena couldn’t believe she had kept every single one of them. She rifled through the papers, the texture rough but worn, the edges were curled and there were deep creases in the paper that suggested the letters having been folded and unfolded many, many times.

Lena quickly made her way to the kitchen, grinning at Amélie who simply raised her eyebrow in response, “Didn’t know you kept all my letters, love.”

“Of course I did, chérie. What if you didn’t keep your promise? I would have had nothing else left of you.”

At those words, Lena closed the distance between them, cupping Amélie’s cheek and pulling her in for a proper kiss. She wrapped her arms around the back of her neck and held her there until she was satisfied. When she finally pulled back, she leant her forehead against Amélie’s and smiled.

“You’re real sweet for someone who likes to act so serious all the time.”

Amélie scoffed and returned her focus to the food she was making. Lena snorted a laugh when she realised that Amélie was making them soup for dinner. It did look a lot tastier than what they’d been eating back in Arnhem every night and was more than enough for the two of them for dinner.

“I thought it might bring back some nice memories,” Amélie started, “Even if those memories involved trying to eat half a person’s rations each.” She gave Lena a shy smile as she began to dish it out into bowls for the both of them.

“It smells great, love. Much better than what the Nazis served in those god awful ration packs every day.”

The two of them ate dinner together mostly in silence with how tired Lena was. Even after the nap on the couch, she was more than ready for an early night but she was determined to stay awake for as long as possible. She was at least going to be awake for Amélie to be able to keep her word from earlier that day.

Once the dishes were taken care of, Amélie lead Lena by the arm back up the main staircase and to the master bedroom. She pulled her inside by a tug of her wrist before backing Lena up against the door, a smirk playing on her lips.

“Are you ready for me to show you how much I have missed you, chérie?”

“More than ready, love.”

* * *

 

22nd of May 1945

Lena and Amélie had been taking the time since she returned from Berlin to relax. She found that once she had a lot of time to sit around and get some decent sleep at night, the aches and pains from the war caught up with her. Her hearing in her left ear still hadn’t returned and the doctor that Amélie had taken her to suspected it never would. Her ankles and knees felt particularly stiff and tender from the repeated dropping in via parachute.

Despite how sore she was feeling, Lena was enjoying herself. Living with Amélie had its similarities and differences to when she had lived with Emily. Both brought her a lot of happiness and she wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. The difference was that Amélie was fairly wealthy and it meant that Lena didn’t have to want for anything anymore. She planned to find a job at some point, but there was no rush.

Lena had decided to help take up some of the restoration of the chateau for a few hours every day, both to assist Amélie and keep herself entertained. It was when she was helping paint one of the walls in the main hallway that Amélie appeared, holding a letter in her hand.

“Lena, there is a letter here for you,” She paused as she flipped it in her hand to read the sender information, “From a ‘Jesse McCree’.”

She couldn’t keep herself from making her way down the ladder in seconds, taking the letter from Amélie’s hands with a grin as she tore it open. Lena pulled the paper out and flicked it open, instantly cringing at the awful handwriting. It didn’t surprise her that Jesse wrote like someone having a stroke.

_Howdy Lena,                                                                                      May 13, ‘45_

_It’s my first time writing a letter or anything like it in a long time, sorry if it’s hard to read when you get it. Took a little while to get home from the front, glad I took the chance to go home earlier than you did otherwis I’d still be on some fuckin boat._

_Started looking for Genji a few days after I got home but most of the people here are still in the camps they’ve got set up. Tried looking into the camp he got sent to before I left New Mexico but looks like he’s been moved somewhere else. I’m gonna keep looking though, can’t let him sit in one of these fuckin camps fourever and not be there when he gets out._

_How’s things with your girl? Every thing like you hoped it’d be? Is France nice when there’s no Nazis and bombs goin off?_

_Write me back,_

_Jesse_

Lena was glad to hear that Jesse had returned home okay. She had no idea what happened to him after they separated at the end of the bulge and could only hope that he’d make it out of Europe without getting himself killed at the last second. She was a lot less glad to hear that Genji was still missing. Lena knew from all their talks exactly how much he meant to Jesse even if he never admitted to loving him.

“You got some paper I could use to write him back?” Lena asked, smiling up at Amélie who was still stood right in front of her.

“Of course, chérie. It is on the coffee table in front of the fireplace.” She answered, brushing Lena’s hair out of her eyes.

Lena kissed Amélie’s hand before trotting as quickly as she could to the table. She had been well and truly since she’d come to Annecy, but she’d still missed her friend.

* * *

 

17th of September 1948

Lena smirked at Jesse in the reflection of the full length mirror in front of them. He was helping her knot her tie, the finishing touch for her suit, and even after his insistence that he knew what he was doing, Jesse couldn’t get it to sit right. He let out a frustrated huff, sending some of his now-long hair away from his face.

When Lena had answered the door the day before to let Jesse in, she’d been surprised to see he’d grown his hair back out since they’d said their goodbyes back in 1945. He’d kept the scruffy beard and the cowboy hat, only exchanging his uniform for even more cowboy gear. Somehow, Lena wasn’t surprised.

After five minutes, Jesse gave up and found Amélie in the next room, bringing her in to fix Lena’s tie for her. It was a good thing they didn’t believe that was bad luck. Amélie simply rolled her eyes at the two of them, her hair and makeup still not completely finished, before making her way out again.

“You ever thought when you signed up for the war as a man that’d you’d be pretendin’ for the rest of your life?” Jesse asked, lifting his hat slightly to scratch at his head. He’d insisted on being able to wear his hat during the ceremony.

“Not really. Didn’t even expect it to continue when I was living here until Amélie suggested it a few months in. She always wanted to get married, again anyway. I never thought I would, but when she said she could get me a fake identity so we _could_ get married, couldn’t pass on that.”

Jesse nodded as he listened, “Fair ‘nough. There a reason you picked today for the date?” He asked as they began making their way out of the room and down the main staircase of the chateau.

“Yeah, we decided on today ‘cause it’s the day we met. Day I dropped in on Arnhem and got shot. Decided to make it a double anniversary, I guess.” Lena said as she brushed her hair behind her ear.

They made their way through the chateau and out onto the back courtyard that looked over the water. Amélie had it decorated with chairs, flowers and a wooden, white arch. It was going to be a small and simple ceremony for the two of them. Lena’s fake identity might be well sourced, but there was no point bringing any extra attention to them that might lead to them being caught.

“You haven’t sent me a letter in a while about Genji, you found him yet?” She asked, already knowing the answer to that question as they made their way down the aisle to stand in front of the wooden arch.

“Nothin’ yet. Been trying to look at some places in California, see if I can find him living somewhere there. He always said he wanted to live there so maybe he got out of where they were keepin’ him and he moved.” He said with a shrug, taking his place at Lena’s side.

“Well, I hope you find him, yeah? You gotta keep me updated as you look, and when you _do_ find him, you’re gunna introduce us.” She grinned, bumping her shoulder against Jesse’s arm.

“Sounds like a plan.” Jesse smiled back down at her.

The ceremony itself didn’t end up taking too long. Amélie looked as gorgeous as Lena had expected her to, wearing some kind of expensive white gown for the occasion. They’d kept their vows to a minimum, wanting to get to the ‘I do’ part as fast as possible. She was surprised when they were planning to know that Amélie was just as eager and impatient as she was.

After the ceremony was over, Amélie and Lena hosted a smaller group of their guests for dinner in the dining room. Amélie had hired a cook to take care of everything for the evening despite her preference to do things herself. The whole event went from just after midday into the early evening when Amélie finally shooed everyone but Jesse out of the chateau. He gave them their peace and quiet for the evening before they left for their honeymoon the next day.

Amélie took the both of them on a trip to the coast of Morocco, soaking up the warmth and the ocean. When the two of them returned to France at the end of their trip, they made good on their plans to open up a restaurant, called Belle Vie, in the town just a short distance from the chateau. Amélie managed the workers and the profits while Lena ran the kitchen most evenings. They didn’t need the money, but it kept them very busy and very happy.

* * *

 

20th of March 1950

Four months passed, and Lena didn’t receive a single letter from Jesse. It was enough to make her begin to worry and consider heading to America to check that he was okay until a letter postmarked from California finally arrived in the mail.

She opened it with shaking hands, scrambling when one of those new fancy instant photographs slipped out of the letter as she opened it. It was a picture of a young Asian man, standing on a beach at sunset. He was wearing what looked to be Jesse’s hat with a wide grin on his face and two scars bisected his right eye.

_Lena,                                                                                              May 9, '50_

_I found him._

_Jesse._

 

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is curious, the name Lena lives under in France is Louis Olivier, Amelie uses her connections as a wealthy woman to get her a brand new birth certificate that says she was born in Paris.
> 
> The doodle included here is by Nine! You can follow her here at: http://senshi-9.tumblr.com/

**Author's Note:**

> If you wish to see more content by me or follow what I'm doing, follow me at twoheartedalien2-0.tumblr.com


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